“Xav bounded out behind him. “Yeah, Phee equals You-She squared. I’ve been working on that one: like it?”

“Xav tugged Yves off me and handed me the call button. “You’ll be needing this, Phee, when my irritating little squirt of a brother bothers you again. Just press and the nurses will come running. One of them looks like a pro-wrestler, so she’ll make short work of him.”

“speech to him was a task, a battle, words mustered behind his beard and issued one at a time, heavy and square like tanks.”

“After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if you are bound to fake one of them, it had better be life.”

“How am I going to help you?”“You are going to jump.”“Ha.”“You are.”“Have you done this before?”“Yeah, with fruit.” That was Xav.“And why am I not reassured?”

“Her green eyes meet mine in the Guinness mirror behind the bar and it feels like all the air has been sucked out of the room. I’ve never slept with this girl, but she was the first I remember wanting.Harper Gray.”